GUWAHATI, Jan 29 - As justice still remains elusive for his deceased wife, Dr Anamika Ray, assistant professor of Gauhati University who died allegedly due to medical negligence after a gall bladder operation in New Delhi, Dr Ankuran Dutta will approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi for intervention in this regard.
After the Chief Ministers of Delhi and West Bengal, Dr Dutta will also approach Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, demanding an enquiry by the Assam Medical Council against the two doctors, Chandan Kumar Deka and Abhijit Khound, who were in charge of Dr Anamika Ray�s treatment.
According to data, in India around 52 lakh people fall victim to medical negligence, out of whom 98,000 lose their lives every year.
�It is no more a battle just for my wife, but thousands of others who suffer due to medical negligence. If awareness on this issue can save even a few lives, I would consider myself successful,� he said in a press meet while sharing his plans to turn his battle into an awareness movement about this little discussed issue.
�I will give a memorandum to the Prime Minister demanding his intervention into the matter. I will also raise the demand of a specific law, making the medical fraternity more accountable towards patients,� he said.
It needs mention here that Dr Anamika Ray died on July 19, 2015 in Jaipur Golden Hospital, New Delhi, after a gall bladder operation at Navjeevan Hospital in New Delhi. According to Dr Dutta, initially he was made to believe by the doctors that she died due to pre-existing heart-related issues, but evidence later suggested that it was a case of medical negligence and callousness.
�The problem of an enlarged heart, which the doctors explained as the cause of death, should have been detected prior to the surgery. Moreover, the doctors ignored the fact that the ECG machine was not working properly. As laymen, we leave everything to the doctors. However, a deeper investigation later revealed that several mandatory parameters were not met during the treatment. If a healthy person collapses after a minimal evasive surgery on the gall bladder in the national capital, the entire healthcare system needs serious attention,� he added. A police case has also been filed in this regard at South Rohini Police Station, Delhi.
The Directorate of Health Services of the Delhi Government and the Delhi Medical Council have started two separate investigations into the case. Meanwhile, the Medical Council of India has also demanded some other details of the case in their specific format. Dr Dutta has also written to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) headquarters in Geneva, complaining about the negligence on the part of the ISO-certified hospital.
